IL Postcard

Six Places Your Dollar Still Goes a Long Way

Date: 01/21/2008

Tuesday, Jan. 22, 2008

Read more about investing overseas in International Living Postcards—your daily escape

What a year was 2007.

The top news story last year, at least for most Americans, wasn’t the embarrassing serial crash-and-burn of Britney Spears’ career—fun as that was to watch.

No, the top news story had to be the embarrassing crash-and-burn of both the U.S. dollar and the nation’s sub-prime mortgage industry.

That wasn’t at all fun to watch…especially if you owned U.S. property, earned your income in dollars, or had dollar-denominated investments.

And as the ripples of that crash continue to spread and the U.S. slips into the Recession of 2008, this state of affairs illustrates some basic truths. Simply put, you’re asking for trouble, as an individual and as a country, if you:

-Spend more than you earn

-Borrow more than you can repay

-Lend more than you can collect

-Paper it all over with an endless flood of ever-less-valuable currency to encourage even more spending, borrowing, and lending.

What was International Living doing in 2007 while all this was going on?

Same thing we’ve been doing every year for 29 years now…hunting up opportunities, wherever they exist in the world, for our readers to live better for less and to maintain and increase their wealth.

In 2008, we’ll keep right on doing that, and we already have some especially bright lights on the International Living horizon to tell you about this year. Some of the places where the good life is calling at rock-bottom rates are...

Yucatan, Mexico. With long, undeveloped stretches of Gulf beaches, urban centers with excellent infrastructure and services, and prices unseen for years on the Pacific and Caribbean coasts, foreigners are starting to get the message about Mexico’s Yucatan State. From the international airport in Merida, direct flights put Houston just two hours away…Miami less than 90 minutes. Yucatan is so affordable that it’s even getting attention from an increasing number of Mexicans as a vacation and second-home hotspot. Beachfront lots 40 minutes from Progreso on the Gulf coast are selling for as little as $35,000 through real estate agencies...and can be less through an owner. A renovated three-bedroom house right on the beach is currently listed for less than $70,000. And you can still get a tidy little colonial house in Merida’s historic center for less than $60,000.

Panama. Although Mexico recently bumped Panama from the top of IL’s Global Retirement Index, Panama didn’t get bumped far. That’s because it’s still an excellent and easy-to-manage bargain from an expat point of view, especially outside Panama City. There are plenty of affordable condos in Panama City, but for those who don’t want a steady diet of traffic gridlock and construction noise, the rest of Panama is calling. A proposed international airport in Chiriqui could expand the appeal of Panama’s western province well beyond Boquete and Volcan. The eastern part of the Azuero Peninsula is coming out of its exclusive boutique hotel cocoon and quickly blossoming into a destination worth considering for us normal folks. And low-priced building lot bargains still abound within drive time of Panama City in the lush tropical Central Mountains.

Coastal Ecuador. We’ve watched Ecuador for years and have always found it a compelling bargain. Right now, its Pacific coast offers some of the best beachfront bargains to be had anywhere. From Salinas to Manta to Atacamas, there are miles of California-type beaches and headlands simply waiting to be discovered and developed. In San Clemente, just north of Manta, new beachfront condos are now selling for as low as $79,000.

Brazil’s North Coast. Brazil may be a developing country, but it has the strongest economy in Latin America. It’s a huge country as well, which may be one reason its dazzling, sun-washed north coast is just now being discovered and developed. Fortaleza and the surrounding coast is ground zero for the Brazilian beachfront boom, yet you can still buy a downtown apartment with a fantastic sea view for $50,000. Beachfront lots go for as little as $16,500, while a beachfront condo starts at less than $67,000.

Uruguay. In many ways, 2007 was the Year of Uruguay at International Living, due in large part to Lee Harrison, our roving Latin America editor, taking up residence there. He’ll continue watching Uruguay’s evolving opportunities in 2008. Lee doesn’t live where he can’t get top value for his dollar, and he’s found what he calls the best all-around value in Latin America in Uruguay…especially in the capital, Montevideo, and in Uruguay’s Atlantic coast beach playground, Punta del Este. And with the ability to buy properties at auction for pennies on the dollar (something Lee wrote the book—or rather, special report—on), Uruguay’s opportunities are well worth special attention in 2008.

Southern Italy. According to Steenie Harvey, our roving Europe editor, Europe gets short shrift from International Living as a viable option for American and Canadian expats. She’s made it her mission to correct that situation, and it’s hard to find fault with her reasoning when you can find restored villas in Borghi Nascosti in Italy’s Abruzzo region with prices starting at just $41,711, including all new wiring, plumbing…even furniture.

In 2008, as we scour the planet for more places where the living is easy, the prices are cheap, the opportunities are enticing…and where watching the wild swings of First-World economics and politics is more a spectator sport than an audience-participation fight to the finish.

Dan Prescher
Publisher, International Living